Panel approves rules for voter ID lawLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas' top elections panel on Wednesday approved guidelines for how poll workers should enforce the state's new voter ID law when it takes effect next year, after it removed a proposal that one member warned could lead to political favoritism. The state Board of Election Commissioners unanimously approved the rules, which closely mirror those outlined in the law passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature in April des...

Grant to assist homeless veterans in Little Rock LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs have announced a grant intended to help homeless veterans in the Little Rock area. The $424,606 grant to the Metropolitan Housing Alliance in Little Rock is to help provide housing to 75 homeless veterans and support services from the VA. The funding will help provide vouchers to the homeless veterans to afford homes. Veterans partici...

Afghan massacre victim takes stand, curses gunman JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Washington (AP) — An Afghan farmer shot during a massacre in Kandahar Province last year took the witness stand Tuesday against the U.S. soldier who attacked his village, cursing him before breaking down and pleading with the prosecutor not to ask him any more questions. Haji Mohammad Naim appeared Tuesday in the courtroom at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle, where a sentencing hearing began for Staff Sgt. Ro...

No copays, easier pills may reduce blood pressureCHICAGO (AP) — New research suggests giving patients easier-to-take medicine and no-copay medical visits can help drive down high blood pressure, a major contributor to poor health and untimely deaths nationwide. Those efforts were part of a big health care provider’s eight-year program, involving more than 300,000 patients with high blood pressure. At the beginning, less than half had brought their blood pressure under control. That increased...

US weighs pros, cons of cutting some aid to Egypt WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration, undertaking a major review of U.S. relations with Egypt, edged closer to a decision Tuesday about curtailing some of America’s $1.5 billion in annual aid after the Egyptian military’s crackdown on supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. Top administration officials met at the White House to review the possibility of cutting military or economic aid to Egypt, a longtime U.S. ally and the most p...

Judge to announce Manning’s sentence WednesdayFORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — A military judge said she’ll announce on Wednesday the sentence for Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, who gave reams of classified information to WikiLeaks. Army Col. Denise Lind said Tuesday she was still deliberating but she was confident she would have a sentence by Wednesday morning. “At 10 a.m. tomorrow I will announce the sentence,” Lind said about 2 1/2 hours into her deliberations. Manning faces up to 90 years in prison...

San Diego mayor back in lawsuit settlement talks SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego’s embattled mayor on Tuesday spent a second day in settlement talks over a sexual harassment lawsuit against him, as petitions circulated to recall the former congressman who has been besieged by allegations from more than a dozen women. City Council President Todd Gloria and Councilman Kevin Faulconer confirmed that Mayor Bob Filner has been present at the talks involving the lawsuit filed by his former communicatio...

Survey: Health insurance costs outpace wage gains Workers saw a modest rise in the average cost of employer-sponsored health insurance this year, but they’re probably not overwhelmed with relief. Coverage costs still are climbing faster than wages. That means, in many cases, a bigger portion of the average paycheck is sliced off for insurance instead of being deposited into employee bank accounts. Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family coverage climbed nearly 4 percent this year to top...

Lawmaker steps down from Senate seatLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Democratic state senator from northeast Arkansas resigned Tuesday after an ethics panel said he spent thousands of dollars from his re-election campaign on personal items such as women’s clothing and home theater equipment. Sen. Paul Bookout of Jonesboro announced he was stepping down immediately following last week’s decision by the Arkansas Ethics Commission to fine him $8,000 and reprimand him over the spending. Bookout...

Hobbs: Add job applications to government aid LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Republican candidate for governor said Tuesday that too many people “have learned how to work the system” and that she would want anyone receiving government assistance to also fill out a job application when applying for aid. State Rep. Debra Hobbs, R-Rogers, speaking to the Political Animals Club, decried the poor stewardship of government money. Meeting with reporters afterward, she said people receiving unemployment be...

Group kicks off nat’l tour on health law defunding FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — One of the chief backers of a plan to defund the federal health care law by tying it to budget negotiations said Monday that he didn’t believe Republicans would be blamed for a government shutdown as supporters of the approach launched a national tour to spur support for the idea. Dismissing concerns from some Republicans, former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina called the defunding idea the “last, best chance” to sto...

Unemployment rate up to 7.4 percentLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas’ unemployment rate for July was up one-tenth of a percentage point to 7.4 percent. The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services said Monday that the rate was the same in July 2012, though there are 1,700 fewer unemployed state residents than a year ago. The national unemployment rate fell by two-tenths of a percentage point to 7.4 percent for July. The agency says government employment fell by 13,900 jobs and was o...

Tax revenues would fund park upgradesRussellville’s Recreation and Parks Department plans to complete several capital projects should voters decide next month in favor of extending the city’s 1-cent sales tax. The bulk of the department’s $8.3 million in proposed revenues from the tax would be dedicated to the construction and operation of a new indoor aquatic center. The facility itself will cost $5.5 million, and another $1.5 million will be set aside for operations and mainten...

5 decades later, some JFK probe files still sealed Five decades after President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot and long after official inquiries ended, thousands of pages of investigative documents remain withheld from public view. The contents of these files are partially known — and intriguing — and conspiracy buffs are not the only ones seeking to open them for a closer look. Some serious researchers believe the off-limits files could shed valuable new light on nagging mysteries of the as...

Who’s jumping through which 2016 hoops WASHINGTON (AP) — Get your face on TV and write a book: Check. Start meeting the big money people: Check. Visit Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina — Israel, too: Check. Deny any of this has to do with running for president: Check. For politicians planning or tempted to run for the presidency in 2016, the to-do list is formidable. What’s striking is how methodically most of them are plowing through it while they pretend nothing of the sort is ...

Egypt challenges Obama’s Arab Spring philosophy WASHINGTON (AP) — As Arab Spring democracy uprisings spread across the Middle East, President Barack Obama’s response to the political unrest has been to voice support for people seeking representative governments but limit the role the United States will play to shape those efforts. The president’s philosophy of limited engagement is facing perhaps its toughest test in Egypt, where the nation’s first democratically elected president was ouste...

Beebe backing Ross' bid for Arkansas governor LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe endorsed former congressman Mike Ross on Saturday in his bid to succeed him as the state's top elected official, touting the Democrat and former congressman as the best choice. "Mike Ross will unite this state with a bipartisan focus on education, job creation and tax reform, and he will serve as the hardworking, compassionate leader we need to continue moving Arkansas forward," the popular governor ...

City delays decision on developerThe Russellville City Council postponed a decision Thursday to move toward an agreement with a convention center developer. At the Finance Committee meeting prior to the council’s regular meeting, Alderman Martin Irwin made the motion to postpone the decision on a proposed memorandum of understanding between the city and LodgeWell, a Kansas-based developer. He said he wanted to take more time to look at and understand the document before votin...

Reactions to developments in Egypt Reactions on Friday around the world to developments in Egypt following clashes in which hundreds of people were killed and thousands injured: EUROPEAN UNION European leaders spoke Friday about the need for a coordinated EU response to the violence in Egypt and agreed there should be a meeting of the European Union’s foreign ministers next week. French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an end to violenc...

Iraq seeks help from US amid growing violence WASHINGTON (AP) — A resurgence of violence and a renewed threat from al-Qaida have recently revived flagging U.S. interest in Iraq, officials said Friday as Baghdad asked for new help to fight extremists less than two years after it forced American troops to withdraw. Faced with security crises across the Mideast, North Africa and Asia, the White House largely has turned its attention away from Iraq since U.S. forces left in 2011. But the coun...